iPad’s Market Share Plummets, Samsung Gains

Last updated May 2, 2014

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Apple continues to the be the most dominant player in the tablet market but Samsung is closing in fast. Over the last year, iPad’s market share has plummeted by 16.1% while Samsung has gained five points to reach 22.3% of the market share.

Only a year ago, during the first quarter of 2013, Apple sold more than 40% of all the tablets sold. And now, a year later, Apple has sold only 32.5% of the tablets. We have seen Samsung gear up to the competition and improve its tablet line-up. The result of this is that Samsung has mustered very strong growth over the last year, going from 17.5% of the market share to 22.3%.

What is even more interesting is that the performance by other tablet vendors was negligible. A general outlook of the market trend suggests that Apple lost market share which was directly picked up by Samsung. Apple has tried to ramp up the competition with iPad mini, diversifying its line-up and offering more variety. But Q1 results show that the strategy isn’t working very well.

A look at the market trend for the last year or two shows that iPad is on a downward trajectory. The sales of the tablet this quarter have come down to the same level they were at three years ago. The trend has been consistent overall and Apple hasn’t been able to shrug it off. Samsung’s significantly improved top-end tablets coupled with a far more affordable price tag are grabbing the top-end tablet market. The trend is expected to continue and Apple may finally counter it with sub-priced iPad models.